Both the capital cities are on the razor edge of air purity and unless drastic measures to correct the trend were taken in right earnest, irreversible damage is going to be caused in many ways. An Action Plan having already been prepared but not implemented speaks about insensitivity towards this critical issue. Respirable Suspended Particulates (RSP), the barometer of measuring air quality continue to remain above the national standards in Jammu and Kashmir which must be taken as alarm bells ringing about the potential damage to the air purity in both these cities of a UT predominantly tourism related. Vehicular emission on busy roads, dust on roads due to poor quality of roads, industrial air pollution, biomass garbage burning, adulterated fuel burning, construction and demolition activities all contribute to increasing levels of air pollution and degrading air quality. These all need to be regulated and that too strictly to pre-empt both being classified as polluted cities. Even envisaging the condition of air quality in cities like Delhi where people had to wear masks to ward off inhaling polluted air just a year prior to striking of COVID-19 pandemic, may not happen even remotely in Jammu and Srinagar which therefore calls for a concerted Action Plan. We have been showing ourselves miserably for years in a row in respect of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) resulting in National Green Tribunal issuing directions for preparing an Action Plan . Both the cities are virtually the double of the accepted parameters of RSPM which should not be more than 60 Micro gram per cubic metre. The matter thus having attained serious dimensions calls for an early action by the Government to prevent hazardous effects of impure air on the health of the people , besides saving our tourism industry from nose diving in its turnover and potential.
Follow our WhatsApp channel